MANILA, June 18, 2013 – Pope Francis wrote the president of the G8 group of nations— Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron—asking to serve humanity, beginning with the poorest and most vulnerable. The summit which kicked off yesterday at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland will tackle key issues which include taxes, transparency and trade or 3Ts.
Pope Francis in his letter reiterated the need to have ‘respect for the truth of man’, which according to him ‘is not simply an additional economic factor, or a disposable good, but is equipped with a nature and a dignity that cannot be reduced to simple economic calculus.’
The pope wasted no time in asserting the goal of economics and politics indicating the starting point of service to humanity.
“The goal of economics and politics is to serve humanity, beginning with the poorest and most vulnerable wherever they may be, even in their mothers’ wombs,” Pope Francis said.
He added that, “concern for the fundamental material and spiritual welfare of every human person is the starting-point for every political and economic solution and the ultimate measure of its effectiveness and its ethical validity.”
Ending his letter, the Pope expressed his thoughts to the G8 president indicating the primary importance of putting humanity, every single man and woman, at the centre of all political and economic activity.
“Because man is the truest and deepest resource for politics and economics, as well as their ultimate end,” said Pope Francis.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron in his eight-paragraph reply to the pope did not however explicitly indicate any sign of fundamental concern for the ‘poorest and most vulnerable’ which Pope Francis classified including those ‘even in their mothers’ wombs’, which are the unborn.
According to WHO, every year in the world an estimated 40-50 million women decides to have an abortion. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day. This doesn’t include statistics of micro abortions committed due to the use of contraceptives.
Known member countries of the G8 such as Germany, Japan, Italy and Russia suffer from low birth rate which has greatly affected its economy and is expected to continue to endure the consequence of demographic winter. (Paul De Guzman)
